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Supreme Court Preserves Abortion Drug Access For Now; Hunter Biden Team To Meet With DOJ; ICRC Unable To Deliver Sudan Aid; Ukrainian Town Hoping For Counteroffensive Against Russia; Gun Sales Surge; Earth Fails Annual Checkup. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired April 22, 2023 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. Supreme Court moves to preserve access to a widely used abortion pill but protection may not last long. We will break down the court's ruling and where things go next.
Homeowners rushing to buy guns; a slew of armed property owners accused of attacking innocent people for honest mistakes. We'll look at the rush to get armed.
Plus as street battles continue throughout Sudan, we're live in Nairobi with a look at where the 72 hour ceasefire stands.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Abortion rights supporters across the United States are celebrating a victory, at least for now. The Supreme Court has moved to protect access to a commonly used drug for abortions and miscarriages. But it's not clear how long this protection will last.
CNN's Emily Schmidt has details on the court's ruling and the next steps in the legal fight over mifepristone.
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EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All Friday, all eyes were on the U.S. Supreme Court, each minute a minute closer to a decision about an abortion drug which has been safely used for more than two decades.
The decision when it came was to protect access to a widely used abortion drug, a move that has major consequences.
STEVE VLADECK, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW: The headline for right now is that mifepristone access tomorrow is going to be the same as it was yesterday but that's not going to change anytime soon.
SCHMIDT (voice-over): This is the first big abortion related decision from the court since it overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. At issue, an April ruling by a Texas judge, which blocks the FDA approval of mifepristone, often the first part of a two-drug regimen to end early pregnancy.
The court's decision is a momentary win for the Biden administration, which had issued court filings, saying the lower courts were countermanding the FDA's scientific judgment.
SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-WI): So on all fronts, including reversing this Texas judge, we have to work to regain the rights and freedoms that have been lost.
SCHMIDT (voice-over): A federal appeals court has already scheduled oral arguments for mid-May. There's a chance the case could ultimately come back to the Supreme Court. But for now, doctors, in states where abortion is legal, can prescribe mifepristone to their patients -- in Washington, I'm Emily Schmidt reporting.
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BRUNHUBER: So the next challenge for mifepristone comes on May 17th before a three judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Law professor Jessica Levinson explains what could happen then and how this could impact FDA approval of drugs down the road. Here she is.
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JESSICA LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: That is the full appeal on the merits, on the substance of this claim. I think whoever loses will almost certainly appeal back up to the Supreme Court, at which point they also have to consider the substance of this, not just whether or not to push pause but whether or not the district court judge was correct when he said the FDA didn't follow proper procedures when it approved mifepristone and then when it made changes to make it easier to obtain mifepristone in 2016 and 2021.
I mean, this case obviously has everything to do with abortion. But on the other hand not that much to do with abortion in the sense that we're talking about whether or not a single federal judge has the power to undermine what an executive agency -- here the FDA -- did, again, almost a quarter century ago.
Now I think in reality, we're not going to see people challenge cholesterol drugs or heart medication. But it could be other controversial forms of treatment, like, for instance, vaccines. Those could be next to be challenged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Obviously, for many women, this has been a nightmare and, from a physician's perspective, the uncertainty is stressful as well. Earlier I spoke about that with OB-GYN Dr. Alison Edelman from Portland, Oregon. Here she is. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ALISON EDELMAN, OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: It's incredible, incredibly stressful. It's just disheartening.
Really, there's so many legal attacks in the care that we provide at the bedside that really shouldn't be there. Really we should be just practicing medicine and being concerned about the patient in front of us and providing the best care that we can for them.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. On the -- on the larger issue of access to abortion, I mean, we've seen across the country, Republican states tightening or eliminating access. We can see -- we're going to pop up the map here -- we can see how widespread the bans and restrictions have been.
Those orange states there on the map cover a huge swath of the country where it's been banned or severely restricted.
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BRUNHUBER: Obviously, the larger problem isn't going away.
EDELMAN: No, I mean, we already knew that bans and restrictions don't make this kind of health care go away because it is so essential. It just creates more difficulties for patients. It creates worsening care. It creates death, harm and it creates immense confusion and fear among patients, which just shouldn't be there when they're trying to access health care.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, and some experts have said, I mean, abortion restrictions don't end up stopping abortions. They just make more unsafe abortions.
Is that sort of what you've seen?
EDELMAN: Yes, you know, we know and we have extensive literature from around the world that abortion bans and restrictions don't stop abortion care. They do the types of things that we don't want to see. They make care unsafe.
They push people later into pregnancy to access care. They create pregnancy complications. We already have one of the worst maternal health morbidity and mortality rates in the world among high income countries.
And that's just going to worsen with not being able to have access to this really essential basic care.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Because all of -- because of all these attacks, I mean, we've heard from some doctors that, you know, in many states, it's getting harder to find doctors and nurses, you know, like yourself, because they feel that they're being targeted legally.
Many are moving out of state. They're changing specialties or giving up the practice altogether, which is making it harder, not just in terms of access to abortion but just getting, you know, maternal and reproductive health care.
What have you seen?
EDELMAN: Yes, you know, we're seeing that, too. We just had our recent numbers come out from our national match, which is how medical students choose specialties. And we saw a huge decrease in the number of individuals choosing to become OB-GYNs and we also saw a decrease of trainees wanting to go to states where bans are.
And that's because of their own health and the health for their patients. So we're going to see this affect the next generation of reproductive health care providers. And that's not only going to affect individuals that are doing abortion care but, as you say, maternal health care and other things in women's health.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's incredibly frightening. But really appreciate getting your perspective on this important issue. Dr. Alison Edelman, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
EDELMAN: Thank you.
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BRUNHUBER: The 2024 race for the White House is heating up, with recent polling showing Democratic support for President Biden to run again is rising. But it's still a bit lukewarm ahead of his possible announcement in the coming week.
Take a look at this poll from AP International Opinion Research Center released Friday. It shows a broad majority of Democrats say that, if Biden does win the Democratic nomination, they will support him, with only 19 percent saying they wouldn't support him.
But this polling shows a close split from Democrats and independents, who lean toward the party on whether Biden should run, with 47 percent saying they'd like to see him do it and 52 percent saying they wouldn't. That's a 10 point improvement for Biden since January polling.
Now on the Republican side of the race, former president Donald Trump has been campaigning in his home state of Florida, repeating a series of false claims about the 2020 election and taking veiled swipes at his presumed top rival for the nomination.
He spoke at the Lee County GOP's Lincoln Reagan dinner yesterday, taking credit for Ron DeSantis winning the governor's race. Here he is.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I got 1.2 million more votes than your successful governor's campaign. About three have your support. Think about it. And it was like a rocket ship after I gave an otherwise. Right now you have a lawyer someplace looking for business.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: A former Trump ally is taking aim at Trump as well, considering whether to make a presidential bid in 2024. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie made the case that Trump is disqualified from the presidency.
And at a dinner in New Hampshire hosted by local Republicans, Christie argued that Trump had not put the American people first.
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CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: This guy, who's pretended to put us first, failed us. We showed faith in him and he failed us because he put himself before the country. He put himself before the people that elected him.
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BRUNHUBER: Multiple sources tell CNN exclusively that lawyers for the U.S. President's son will meet with the Justice Department next week. Hunter Biden's legal team requested the meeting for an update on the agency's investigation. CNN senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid has details.
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PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned that this meeting between Justice Department officials and Hunter Biden's legal team was actually arranged at the request of Biden's lawyers.
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REID: They are seeking an update into the years-long investigation into the president's son. At this meeting in attendance is expected to be at least one career Justice Department official as well as the Trump appointed U.S. attorney, who has been overseeing the Biden investigation.
But it's unclear if we're going to get any kind of update following this meeting on the status of that case.
CNN was the first to report last summer that the investigation was intensifying and that it had narrowed down to just a few charges, including some potential tax crimes and at least one charge of false statements related to the purchase of a gun.
Now nothing has happened, though. Since last year in the recent months, we've also seen Hunter Biden's legal team become a lot more aggressive and forward leaning in their strategy, also becoming a lot more litigious.
Now they're about to have another legal, potentially political problem as well on Capitol Hill, now that a potential whistleblower has come forward, writing to lawmakers, saying that he is an IRS agent who has overseen part of the Biden probe. This individual alleges that he has evidence that this has been
mishandled, that there has been political interference and even alleges that this individual has evidence that would contradict testimony by attorney general Merrick Garland, who has vowed that there would not be any political interference in this investigation.
But at this point, it is important to note this individual has not been granted whistleblower protections. This individual also has not presented any evidence to support these alleged -- these allegations against Biden.
So it's unclear exactly what will come of that. But we'll continue to watch what comes of this potential whistleblower testimony and what, if anything, it means for the criminal case -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: There's little sign right now that a truce is holding in Sudan. Civilians report more fighting between the armed forces and a paramilitary group despite a 72 hour ceasefire.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): We can hear gunfire there echoing throughout the streets of Khartoum. Witnesses say fierce clashes are now taking place near the presidential palace and the sounds of explosions and warplanes can also be heard.
The U.N. says one staff member from its migration agency died in a clash on Friday and that, overall, more than 400 people have been killed since the fighting began last week. Earlier, Sudan's paramilitary forces announced they were ready to partially reopen airports nationwide.
They said this would allow other countries to safely evacuate their citizens. CNN's Larry Madowo joins us now with more.
So, Larry, it really doesn't look as though that cease-fire is holding.
What's the latest?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kim. The ceasefire that was supposed to be to coincide with the three day -- three day ceasefire to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr does not appear to have held, even though it's been quieter than any of the last eight days.
But still witnesses telling CNN that they can still hear explosions and gunfire on the presidential palace, the republican palace, and also in Western Omdurman, where they can also hear gunfire.
And so parts of Khartoum, the capital, still contested. There's still fierce fighting between the Rapid Support Forces, this powerful paramilitary group, fighting the Sudanese armed forces. And for many people, just another scary day, eight days of just this
continuous fighting in Sudan, in the capital, that they've never seen. Even though Sudan has seen a lot of conflicts over the past decades, they've never seen the scale of this violence in the middle of the capital.
And that's why this is so unprecedented, that that's why people are trying to leave the capital, to go out to other parts of the country that they think are safer or 10,000 to 20,000 people who have crossed over into Chad.
We're seeing reports of people trying to make it into South Sudan, trying to make it into Egypt, just anywhere away from the center of this fighting, as this power struggle between these two generals grinds on.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I know, of course, Larry, the chief worry is for the millions of Sudanese civilians, as you say, caught in the middle of this conflict.
But from a U.S. perspective, the Biden administration is already facing criticism for not evacuating its citizens.
What are they saying?
MADOWO: The Biden administration says they do not usually evacuate private citizens. They don't even keep a record of private -- of U.S. citizens in every country. And they pointed out, for instance, that in Yemen, in Libya, in Syria, they never evacuated people even as those governments collapsed.
Here is the White House press secretary.
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KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When it comes to Sudan, this is a warning, a level four warning that we provided to them many months ago, basically telling Americans who were there to leave if they could and also not to travel, Americans not to travel to Sudan.
So we've been very clear on that. Again, it's not our standard procedure.
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MADOWO: U.S. authorities believe that could be about 16,000 or so Americans in Sudan.
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MADOWO: But many of them are dual nationals. What the U.S. has done is add what they're calling additional capabilities nearby, partly in Djibouti, which is close to Sudan. That's where the U.S. has a permanent military base at Camp Lemonnier. And that is in case they need to bring in military equipment and
personnel to evacuate the embassy and the U.S. embassy staff enough to secure the embassy if that was necessary. But that would not be for citizens -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll stay on top of this important story. Larry Madowo in Nairobi, thank you so much.
And the leader of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, is denying that its forces have any involvement in the Sudan conflict. Yevgeny Prigozhin dismissed a CNN investigation which found evidence that Wagner had offered anti aircraft missile systems to help Sudan's paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces.
The RSF has also rejected the notion, saying instead that Sudan's armed forces are the ones aligning themselves with foreign groups.
Ukraine gets another boost from Western allies as Kyiv prepares for its expected counteroffensive. Still ahead, tank units hone their battle skills on U.S. hardware.
Also a look at what might behind surge in gun sales in America right now.
And celebrating Earth Day, Peruvian shamans and healers perform a ritual to thank the Earth for providing everything we consume and to raise awareness about fighting pollution. That and more coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: A 21 year old Air National Guardsman is due in court next Thursday after he was accused of posting classified documents on the internet. Jack Teixeira's detention hearing was originally set for earlier this week but was postponed at the last minute.
He's accused under the Espionage Act but hasn't yet entered a plea. It's alleged he used his top secret clearance as an I.T. specialist to post sensitive intelligence documents in a chat room on the video gaming site, Discord.
And some documents dealt with Russia's war on Ukraine. At a meeting in Germany of nations supporting Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he's happy with the way America's allies are dealing with the revelations surrounding the leak.
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GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: As I've discussed this issue with our allies and partners, I've been struck by your solidarity and your commitment to reject efforts to divide us. And we will not let anything fracture our unity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Austin added he takes the situation extremely seriously.
Ukraine's armored units are getting a shot in the arm from the West ahead of Kyiv's expected counteroffensive. The U.S. says it will start training Ukrainians on its Abrams tank next month. The training will be held in Germany before 31 of those tanks arrive in Ukraine by the end of the summer.
Kyiv's allies also plan to set up a maintenance center for the Leopard tanks in Poland, which could be up and running by the end of May. Western countries have been donating the German made tanks to Ukraine.
Decisions were announced at a meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group in Germany, where the top U.S. general gave this assessment of the war.
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GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS: As we stand here today, the Ukrainian military continues to perform very well. Intense fighting in and around Bakhmut continues and has for several months.
Russia is expending significant manpower for very little gain. Russia is intensifying indiscriminate shelling in (INAUDIBLE) and other cities and urban areas. And Russia continues to pay severely for its war of choice.
Unlike Ukrainian forces, who are highly motivated to fight for their country, to fight for their freedom, their democracy and their way of life, the Russian lack in leadership. They lack will, the morale is poor and the discipline is eroding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now if Ukraine has those advantages, they will be put to the test during its counteroffensive, which is expected in the coming weeks or months. And for one town in southeastern Ukraine, it can't come soon enough. Nick Paton Walsh has that story.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Studying the silence and the violence, that punctuates it. That's the job here, in Southern Huliaipole, where life in the ruins waits, for Ukraine's counteroffensive, to push the Russians, right out of their space.
Ludmila hasn't left since the war began and knows her artillery.
LUDMILA, HULIAIPOLE, UKRAINE RESIDENT (through translator): When there is incoming there is an echo. And when you hear the cracking sound, that's outgoing.
WALSH (voice-over): It's all they've had to do as they wait down here with only a radio. They say it brought their best news yet, this day, learning the Russians have bombed themselves, by accident, in Belgorod.
Recently, Nina thinks she's noticed a change, in the banks.
NINA, HULIAIPOLE, UKRAINE RESIDENT (through translator): The shelling is not as heavy as it was. Maybe it is further way or different guns.
LUDMILA: The scariest was the start of the war. Now we are used to it. That's a bad habit.
WALSH (voice-over): Drive out into the plains earlier this week and the signs are there, in the tracks, in the berms, that Ukraine might be aiming south, to cut Crimea off from Russia.
It's quiet.
Then, loud.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's far away -- about two or three kilometers.
WALSH (voice-over): With the Russians firing from close by?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WALSH (voice-over): Drone operators fly in gaps between electronic jamming.
WALSH: In these open fields, here, each side, trying to spot the other, weaken the other, ahead of this counteroffensive.
WALSH (voice-over): One road is their target, the cars, the buildings, tiny changes and signs of weakness.
WALSH: Are they getting ready for the counteroffensive or just doing nothing?
OLEKSIY, DRONE OPERATOR (from captions): They are preparing all the time. Constantly digging trenches. New ones appear all the time.
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OLEKSIY (from captions): Vehicles moving all the time, including mechanics.
WALSH (voice-over): Yards, from his head, a Russian booby trap left behind. It's not clear if the Russians they're facing now have similar experience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They seem to be training. There is a rifle range there. WALSH (voice-over): After 90 minutes, each drone parachutes down again, soon replaced by another. Fly, spot, shell and repeat. The waiting and watching will soon be over -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Huliaipole, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Russia is reacting to NATO's statement that Ukraine will join the alliance at some point. On Friday, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed that Ukraine will become a NATO member. But he didn't give any timeline.
In response Moscow described a NATO membership as a carrot the alliance dangles in front of Kyiv so it would keep fighting against Russia. Moscow also called Stoltenberg's statement dangerous. And said it could lead to the collapse of Europe's security system.
Russia has made it clear that one of its military goals is to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.
A big shakeup in the British cabinet. Dominic Raab has resigned as deputy prime minister and justice secretary following a report he bullied staff members. A report found Raab was intimidating and persistently aggressive. He had agreed to leave if the report went against him.
But he isn't going quietly, saying the report was flawed. He says it sets a dangerous precedent, which will paralyze the ability of ministers to deliver for the British people.
The U.S. Supreme Court moves to preserve access to a widely used abortion medication but the protection may not last long. We'll have details on the court's ruling and where things go from here, next on CNN NEWSROOM.
And a North Carolina man accused of shooting at a 6 year old and her parents appeared in a Florida court Friday. That story much more after the break. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Want to get back to our lead story this hour. In a striking victory for the Biden administration and abortion rights supporters across the United States, the Supreme Court has moved to protect access to a commonly used abortion drug, at least for now. Now the court didn't explain why it granted the request to intervene in a lower court ruling that suspended government approval of mifepristone. The drug has been used by millions of women over the past two decades it's been on the market.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly dissented while the votes of the other justices weren't made public. Doctors who provide abortion medication to their patients have been reacting to the ruling. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains why mifepristone is so important.
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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Obstetricians and gynecologists are breathing a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court decision Friday night.
That decision allows them, in states that allow abortions, to keep using mifepristone. Now mifepristone is one of two different drugs that are used to treat women who are having abortions or miscarriages.
If mifepristone had been taken off the market across the United States, that means that doctors in states that allow abortions would have only been using misoprostol. That's the second drug.
Now misoprostol can be used on its own for miscarriages and abortions but studies show that it doesn't work as well. It's not as effective and there can be more complications and more side effects.
And so doctors I've been talking to over the past two weeks have said, look, why should I be giving my patients a treatment that we know isn't as good?
I want to give my patients the best treatments that they can get. So again a sigh of relief. But this is only for a certain period of time. Things could change in the future as this case winds its way through the courts. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: So in addition to the medical implications of Friday's ruling, there are political ones as well. So here's what the polling shows.
When asked how they feel about abortion, 58 percent of Americans surveyed last year consider themselves pro choice. Now that wasn't the case back in 2017 through 2021, when the nation was much more divided on the issue.
When it comes to specific bans on abortion, like the six week ban Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law last week, or restrictions on medications like mifepristone, opinion is more split.
Polling shows Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to banning the abortion pill, with 70 percent of all Americans against it; 61 percent of those surveyed are against Florida's six week abortion ban. But only 38 percent of Republicans oppose it. So with the next hearing on the case scheduled for May 17th, we asked
CNN senior political analyst Kirsten Powers how concerned abortion rights advocates should be about what could happen down the road.
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KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think very concerned because I think what this is showing is exactly how radical that people are who oppose abortion rights because this is a situation where, where do these judges get off overturning the FDA?
This is -- it's insane, right?
Like in any normal world, we would recognize that this is this is not normal behavior.
What -- how could they possibly know more about a drug that was approved in the year 2000 than the FDA?
So it just shows that they're willing to openly impose their political beliefs and just impose their ideas and their ideology on women. And so I think that this is a -- this should be very scary. I find it very scary.
And there's no, you know, there's no knowing where this is going to head, where this is going to end up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: A man accused in the shooting that left a 6 year old wounded has waived his right to fight extradition. Robert Singletary appeared in court in Florida Friday, a day after he was apprehended. It is not clear when he'll be returned to North Carolina.
He is accused of shooting a 6 year old girl and her parents after basketball rolled into his yard. The girl and her mother had only minor injuries but her father was hospitalized in serious condition.
Now the North Carolina shooting is just one of a series of high profile shootings across the country in recent weeks and comes as gun sales are surging, especially with first time gun buyers. CNN's Miguel Marquez looks at what's driving this trend.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Jenn. And Shelby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why can't I get it?
MARQUEZ: They don't want their last names used. They are friends, colleagues, gun enthusiasts.
What gun or guns you own know? SHELBY, GUN OWNER: I have a Ruger and a Rossi, both rifles.
MARQUEZ: Both from Long Island New York City adjacent, both professionals.
Jenn has her permit but has yet to buy a handgun.
And why do you want to buy a handgun?
JENN, PURCHASING FIRST HANDGUN: I've been wanting to buy one for years. I'm also someone that lives alone for a couple of years now, so probably for safety mostly but I do enjoy coming to the ranges and shooting. MARQUEZ: She's trying them out, seeing which one is the best fit for her. Shelby like many Americans, made the decision to arm up during the pandemic.
Do you feel safer having a gun?
SHELBY: I do.
MARQUEZ: Why?
SHELBY: Because I'm not sure the chaos is over and I just feel like a lot of people have guns and it would be good to have. I'm a single female. I live on my own. And why not protect myself?
MARQUEZ: The number of both state and national instant criminal background checks check required before one can purchase a gun and a rough indicator. How many people are either purchasing or possibly being issued a gun permit surged during the pandemic, from under 30 million to nearly 40 million today.
Today, in states like New York, officials say there's a backlog of gun permit applications with more applying every day.
MIKE MARINELLO, OWNER, SOUTH SHORE SPORTSMAN: The licensing agencies are inundated with applications. During COVID, the applications quadrupled.
MARQUEZ: Even in a state like New York, where gun ownership is highly regulated, business at South Shore Sportsman never better.
MARINELLO: Forty percent of my clientele comes from New York City.
MARQUEZ: From New York City, the five boroughs?
MARINELLO: Yes.
MARQUEZ: All five?
MARINELLO: Yes, Staten Island to the Bronx.
MARQUEZ: And what are they buying?
MARINELLO: Handguns, if they have a license, like the gentleman that just left or, shotguns. MARQUEZ: Right, by checking in the chamber.
For many, the constant headlines about crime drives them to gun ownership. For others, it's the mass shootings in the fear of not having a gun if everyone else does.
What effect do all these shootings and major events have on your business?
MARINELLO: In the immediate aftermath and most states, that would lead to an increase in sales because everybody looks at the news. And although that's a terrible event, they say the same thing. There's going to be a new law.
MARQUEZ: So there's a rush to get in to buy a gun.
MARINELLO: There's a rush to get the stuff that they think they're going to lose.
MARQUEZ: So who out there is buying guns and why?
We met a lot of people in the medical profession; retirees, housewives, all of them gun users. And it's not just concerns about the pandemic or about crime that is driving gun sales. It all becomes a bit of a feedback loop.
The more they see violence, the more they're concerned they are that everyone else around them is armed. The more they feel they, too, need a gun -- back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: After saying for days they would drop the criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin, prosecutors have officially dismissed the allegations, at least for now.
Baldwin was holding the gun that fired the shot which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie, "Rust," in 2021. But he's maintained he didn't pull the trigger. The legal move comes after new evidence surfaced that the gun had been modified.
The civil case against Baldwin by relatives of Hutchins isn't affected by Friday's move.
Marking Earth Day by tackling environmental justice, President Biden signed a new order to right the wrongs caused by pollution. Details in a moment.
Plus after a year of climate extremes, the Earth gets a failing grade in the annual checkup of global climate health. A report on that when we come back. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: It is Earth Day and President Biden marked the occasion by signing an executive order, creating the new Office of Environmental Justice. The order also directs federal agencies to work more closely with communities impacted by pollution and to tackle the impacts of pollution on people's health.
Earth Day was proposed by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson. He wanted an annual day to educate people about environmental issues. The first Earth Day was held in the U.S. in 1970.
Over the years it went global. According to earthday.org, more than a billion people from 192 countries participate each year, making it the biggest secular observance in the world. This year's theme is invest in our planet.
This Earth Day comes with a sobering report on the state of the climate. A new health check finds that 2022 was a year of extremes for the planet, from droughts and floods to shrinking ice levels. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the story.
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CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Once every year, the World Meteorological Organization, the WMO, puts out its State of the Climate.
How did we do last year, 2022?
Well, in fact, the checkup for 2022 wasn't so good, had some failing grades. Now nine out of the past nine years have been the warmest on record. Now technically, 2022 did not break a new record but it was in the top three and so very close we're just splitting hairs here, hundredths of a degree difference.
Temperatures are rising, sea levels are rising. The ice loss is increasing. The glaciers across Europe were melting this year. Very little snow there and very big heat. Extreme weather events -- and there were many.
The water is warming in the ocean and also in the lakes. The humidity is going up. The glaciers are going down. The snow cover is going down in many spots. And the sea ice, of course, is not as thick as it was.
That doesn't affect sea level rise but anything that's sitting on land, if it melts, that does affect sea level rise. It affected tens of millions of people. Food insecurity boosted mass migrations and cost billions and billions of dollars.
So what happened?
Let's get to some of these. It was the warmest ever, over 40 degrees in the U.K. for the very first time, 40.3. Even Heathrow got to 104.4 degrees. That has never happened in any month in any year ever before since we've been taking temperatures; 1.2 degrees C above average now compared to where we were before we started burning fossil fuels.
When that happens, you get more humidity in the air. And when that humidity wants to fall out of the sky, you get floods, especially Pakistan. Some spots, over 400 percent of average. And when it monsoons in Pakistan, it rains. It truly comes down.
But in 2022, it was 196 percent of average.
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MYERS: And then some of that water, that rain, that humidity, that warmth got up into the glaciers in the northern part of the country and melted those glaciers and put down in this Indus River.
Now hundreds of thousands of square miles of floods killed 1,700 people. Let me take you back. This is what it should look like, very fertile little area here; farmland. It wasn't fertile last year because it was flooded for a very, very long time.
Looking at China, the worst heat wave on record. It was hot almost the entire summer, triggered terrible drought and even had power shortages across that country.
Spots in the U.S., a lot of rainfall came down, one in a thousand year rainfall events happened many times across the U.S.
So what do we know?
Here's what we know about climate change. There's going to be heat waves. We're going to have coastal flooding because the oceans are rising. The oceans are rising for the same reason if you put your thumb on a thermometer, that mercury or that red alcohol will go up.
If you warm the ocean, it gets bigger. So it also goes up. The thermal expansion, very heavy rainfall and, of course, the droughts that come and go. If it rains, it rains. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. Those are those big extremes, that sometimes it rains and sometimes it just doesn't.
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BRUNHUBER: So for this year's Earth Day, we at CNN are turning our attention to how we can possibly reverse some of the damage done to our planet. CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir crosses the globe, talking with innovative players in the race to remove carbon from the sea and sky.
Now Weir talks with one man, who says that spraying the oceans with artificial whale poop will help restore the ocean's nutrients, helping the food chain to flourish from the bottom up.
And an engineer who likens the problem of carbon to Godzilla. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: While he was studying robotic engineering at Dartmouth and Earth Systems at Columbia, he realized a man-made monster was destroying his beloved Gulf of Maine, warming it up at a rate now faster than 95 percent of the rest of the world.
MARTY ODLIN, RUNNING TIDE FOUNDER AND CEO: It's a Godzilla. There's this thing out there and it's like ruining everything that we love, right?
All the good stuff is getting ruined. All the stuff that's free and fun.
It's burning forest down. It's stealing our fish. It's devastating our crops. It's hurting our farmers. Get mad and go kill that thing, right?
WEIR: And right there on a docking main, Marty's metaphor is a light bulb moment for me. A whole new way to think about a giant problem that began when people figured out how to move lots and lots of carbon, that stuff of ancient life.
From the slow cycle locked and rock and under oceans into the fast cycle, in the sea water and the sky and we've moved so much carbon. That monster now weighs a trillion tons, give or take, more than every living thing on Earth.
So not only do we have to stop making the monster bigger, we have to catch it, chop it up and bury the pieces back into these slow cycle. It was something called carbon removal.
ODLIN: Removal is chopping Godzilla down. We got this 400-foot-tall lizard and we're just chopping that thing down, that's what removal is.
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Bill Weir's full report, "How to Unscrew a Planet," will air on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" Sunday night in the West, Monday morning in Asia.
Celebrations across New York City as the Knicks take a 2-1 lead in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Highlights from an eventful Friday night at Madison Square Garden coming up. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Before we go, most of the time, people don't take a lot of joy out of a baby crying. This festival is the exception. Have a look at this.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): It is called the crying baby sumo competition and it's back. It had been on hold for years because of the pandemic. Traditionally, the babies were held aloft by actual sumo wrestlers. But because of COVID concerns, their parents did the honors.
The tradition is hundreds of years old with mythical roots. The infant who cries the loudest is declared the winner, the theory being that loud babies grow up healthy.
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BRUNHUBER: All right. I'm Kim Brunhuber. You can follow me on Twitter @KimBrunhuber. For Europe and North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world. It's "LIVING GOLF."
